EU backs new project that combines solar power with agriculture

Oct30
by on October 30, 2023 at 4:12 pm
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A new “agrivoltaics” initiative looking to prove the commercial viability of integrating solar power plants with agriculture has won the favour of Brussels. The EU is backing German renewable energy company BayWa, in a first-of-its-kind scheme that could be a win-win for farmers and the climate.  In order to develop the project, BayWay has secured €6.5mn from the EU’s LIFE Programme (which has a total of €5.43bn available for the period 2021 to 2027). Armed with fresh funding, the company looks to build six so-called agrivoltaics projects across five European countries by 2027.   Agrivoltaics involves combining solar power generation…

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Netherlands starts building €1.5bn hydrogen pipeline to cut reliance on natural gas

Oct27
by on October 27, 2023 at 3:11 pm
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Today, the Netherlands officially began constructing a 1,200km-long hydrogen pipeline — amid a continent-wide push to wean Europe off natural gas. The first section of the pipeline will run from the Maasvlakte — a massive man-made extension of the Europoort in Rotterdam (Europe’s largest port) — some 30 kilometres inland to a gas refinery in Pernis, run by petrochemical giant Shell. This phase is scheduled to open in 2025 at a cost of €100mn.  The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by the country’s King Willem-Alexander, the minister for climate and energy policy, Rob Jetten, and Han Fennema, CEO of state-run energy…

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UN creates AI advisory body to ‘maximise’ benefits for humankind

Oct27
by on October 27, 2023 at 12:08 pm
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres has unveiled a dedicated AI advisory body with a mandate to harness the technology’s power for good and mitigate its risks through international collaboration and governance. “AI could power extraordinary progress for humanity,” Guterres said, pointing to a plethora of benefits — from health and education to the digitalisation of developing economies. In addition, “it could supercharge climate action and efforts to achieve the [UN’s] 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,” he added. However, Guterres cautioned that AI expertise is currently “concentrated in a handful of companies and countries.” This could heighten global inequalities, increase the…

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Dutch solar EV completes 1,000km test drive through the desert

Oct27
by on October 27, 2023 at 11:02 am
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An off-road solar car built by a team of Dutch students has successfully traversed 1,000km of rugged desert terrain in North Africa — opening up possibilities for the broader rollout of solar-powered EVs in areas with limited charging infrastructure. The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) students drove the SUV, which doubles as a small campervan, from Tangier in northern Morocco across dry riverbeds, steep mountain passes, and loose sand before arriving at the Sahara desert three days later.  “It was an incredible trip with a positive ending. We were able to drive the entire trip on the sun’s energy and…

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Amazon to launch ‘sovereign’ European cloud amid data privacy concerns

Oct26
by on October 26, 2023 at 2:18 pm
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Amazon has announced the launch of independent cloud services for Europe, in what seems to be an attempt to allay fears over EU data sovereignty. The tech giant will be rolling out the Amazon Web Services (AWS) European Sovereign Cloud, which is especially designed for public sector customers and private companies operating in highly-regulated industries. Starting with Germany, the cloud will be set up on servers located within Europe, while only EU-resident and bloc-based AWS employees will have control of its operation. The new system will be separate from other existing cloud regions, and customer data “will not be used…

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